First Block Of Shinsedai 2010 Titles Announced

The Toronto-based Shinsedai Festival got off to a roaring start in 2009 and though it hardly seems like a year has passed the first block of titles has already been announced for the 2010 edition.

Once again curated by Chris MaGee and Jasper Sharp, the festival will present the finest in Japanese independent film from the past year. And here's the initial announcement:

Since our inaugural year in 2009 so many great films have come out of
Japan. Shinsedai Cinema Festival co-programmers Jasper Sharp (Midnight
Eye) and Chris MaGee (Toronto J-Film Pow-Wow)have spent the past eight
months watching as many of these films as humanly possible so that they
can bring the best independent, and in many cases under-appreciated,
Japanese films to movie audiences here in Toronto. From July 22nd to
July 25th, 2010 the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre will be hosting
this celebration of Japanese film, and while Sharp and MaGee are still
putting the finishing touches on the 2nd annual Shinsedai Cinema
Festival line-up we are proud to announce the first block of films that
audiences can expect this year at the JCCC.

Live Tape - The Toronto Premiere of Tetsuaki
Matsue's award-winning concert documentary featuring indie
singer-songwriter Kenta Maeno. Shot on New Year's Day 2009 in one single
unbroken take Matsue and Maeno take us on a musical tour of Tokyo's
Musashino district. Winner of the top prize in the Japanese Eyes
programme at the 2009 Tokyo International Film Festival and the Nippon
Digital Award at the 2010 Nippon Connection Japanese Film Festival in
Frankfurt.

Kenji Mizoguchi's The Water Magician - The silent
1933 classic by one of Japan's most revered directors is also one of
Japanese cinema's very first independently produced films. The love
story between a renowned female performer who literally makes water
dance across the stage and an impoverished carriage driver will be
brought to life with live musical accompaniment by Toronto experimental
quartet Vowls. Not to be missed! *Co-presented with the Toronto Reel
Asian International Film Festival*

Confessions of a Dog - A gritty police epic that
exposes the corrupt underbelly of Japanese law enforcement, Gen
Takahashi's Confessions of a Dog was too controversial to
receive a theatrical release in Japan. The drama that stars Shun Sugata
as a police detective who not only bends the rules but breaks them ended
up having to be distributed through Hong Kong to festivals world wide.
We are proud to premiere the film in Canada and to have Gen Takahashi as
our guest.

Island of Dreams - First time feature director
Tetsuichiro Tsuta goes against the trend of shooting on hi-def video
with his film Island of Dreams, an homage to 1960s films of
Akira Kurosawa, Seijun Suzuki and Kinji Fukasaku. Tsuta and his crew not
only shot this eco-thriller on 16mm black-and-white film, but also
developed and edited the film entirely by hand.

The Dark Harbour - A hilariously downbeat comedy
with a heart, Naito Takatsugu's The Dark Harbour will be having
its Canadian premiere at Shinsedai. The story of a lonely fisherman who
discovers a single mother and her son hiding in his closet The Dark
Harbour brings to mind the straight-faced comedy of Finnish master
Aki Kaurismaki.

The Red Spot - Marie Miyayama's Japanese/ German
co-produced debut feature is a touching drama about a young Japanese
woman who travels to Bavaria to search for the exact spot where a car
accident took the life of her parents and younger brother 18 years
before. What she discovers in Germany is more than just a red spot on a
map though.

Different Cities - Experimental video artist
Kazuhiro Goshima uses subtle CGI-animation to clear Tokyo of all but a
handful of its inhabitants in Different Cities. We follow five
inter-weaving characters as they wake up to discover they've become lost
in their own city.

Yuki Kawamura Trilogy - Musician, video artist, and
now filmmaker Yuki Kawamura has crafted three touching Ozu-esque drama's
about the impermamance of life and the magic that can be found in a
single moment. Mixing traditional Japanese Noh theatre and modern hi-def
technology these three films - Spark, Angel Robe and Grandmother
- will be receiving their Toronto premiere at Shinsedai.

Ladybirds' Requiem - Artist and animator Akino
Kondoh's first short film The Evening Traveling was a huge hit
at Shinsedai last year, so this year we've not only programmed Kondoh's
second animated short Ladybirds' Requiem, but we are featuring
her 2004 painting Red Fishes as our official poster image. To
top it all off Kondoh will be in attendance at this year's festival.

That's just a smaple of what audiences can expect this year at the
2nd annual Shinsedai Cinema Festival. Check back on June 17th for the
full line-up and schedule of this year's festival!

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